image: The electrochemical co-oxidation coupling of benzyl alcohol and ethanol was achieved by integrating salting out effect, catalyst design, and nitrate electro-reduction.
Credit: ©Science China Press
This study demonstrates a paired electrolysis strategy for combining anodic oxidative coupling of ethanol (EtOH) and benzyl alcohol (PhCH2OH) to synthesize cinnamaldehyde (CAL) with cathodic ammonia production.
Specifically, the strategy involves: (1) Utilizing the salt-out effect to balance selective oxidation and coupling rates; (2) Developing platinum-loaded nickel hydroxide electrocatalysts to accelerate intermediate coupling kinetics; (3) Introducing thermodynamically favorable nitrate reduction at the cathode to improve coupling selectivity by avoiding hydrogenation of products while generating valuable ammonia instead of hydrogen. 85% coupling selectivity and 278 μmol/h NH3 productive rate were achieved at 100 mA/cm2 with low energy input (~1.63 V). The membrane-free, low-energy, scalable approach with wide substrate scope highlights promising applications of this methodology.
This work emphasizes the importance of regulating electrochemical and non-electrochemical steps in the electro-oxidative coupling reaction of primary alcohols, and provides a general design principle for the high-value utilization of electrocatalysis of alcohols.
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See the article:
Combining anodic alcohol oxidative coupling for C–C bond formation with cathodic ammonia production
https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwae134
Journal
National Science Review